In pursuit of the Chinese dream (what about happiness?)

Brian Van Holt, Tricia Helfer, and Brandon P Bell in Ascension (2014)

Meera Devi, Suneeta Prajapati, and Shyamkali Devi in Writing with Fire (2021)

The absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the &quot;Chinese Dream.&quot; This observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.

Jessica Kingdon

Ascension

&quot;Ascension&quot; (2021 release; 97 min.) is an American documentary about the pursuit of the Chinese dream. As the movie opens, we see how companies in China like Huawei and Foxconn aggressively recruit new factory workers with the promise of being able to sit while working, A/C in the dorms, and good food. We then find ourselves on the factory floor, where the workers are doing mind-numbing serial factory work... At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the feature-length debut of longtime short documentarian Jessica Kingdon (she is also the movie&apos;s producer, writer, photographer and editor, truly a one-woman army!). Kingdon, a Chinese -American, comes up with absolutely amazing footage from dozens of sites in China. I can&apos;t help but wonder to what extent, if any, Kingdon had to get permission from local, state or national authorities to film all this. Much of the footage we get is simply the footage plus the electronic score (courtesy of Dan Deacon) but at times we get to listen in on discussions between the individuals (mostly employees) themselves. Check out the fascinating discussion between the butlers-in-training late in the film, where one comments that &quot;Big Uncle Xi&quot;, a/k/a China&apos;s President (for life) has done &quot;so much good:&quot; while another opines that she likes the US &quot;because I yearn for freedom&quot;. The financial and social inequality in China is staggering, as this film makes clear (Of course this is true in many other countries, including the US, but few of them are Communist-controlled.) Whether you like or don&apos;t like China, it is undeniably a rising power and a fascinating place. I had the good fortune of spending time in China for my work in the late 00s (the &quot;good ol&apos; days&quot; of expanding trade between the US and China). If you even have a chance to visit China, don&apos;t hesitate! Bottom line: &quot;Ascension&quot; is a remarkable documentary about the pursuit of the Chinese dream (even if the pursuit of happiness doesn&apos;t seem all that urgent or pressing).

&quot;Ascension&quot; premiered on the film festival circuit last summer to good critical buzz (there is a reason this movie is currently rated 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was picked up my MTV Documentaries and started streaming on Paramount + last Fall. I saw an ad for this the other day in the New York Times, and was intrigues. Glad I checked it out. Of course I encourage you to check it out yourself, and draw your own conclusion.

Official Trailer

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTRkNTY1YjYtNDJjZS00ZWU5LThlOTEtZGQ4ZWQzNzI0NzAyXkEyXkFqcGdeQWxiaWFtb250._V1_.jpg

"Ascension" (2021 release; 97 min.) is an American documentary about the pursuit of the Chinese dream. As the movie opens, we see how companies in China like Huawei and Foxconn aggressively recruit new factory workers with the promise of being able to sit while working, A/C in the dorms, and good food. We then find ourselves on the factory floor, where the workers are doing mind-numbing serial factory work... At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the feature-length debut of longtime short documentarian Jessica Kingdon (she is also the movie's producer, writer, photographer and editor, truly a one-woman army!). Kingdon, a Chinese -American, comes up with absolutely amazing footage from dozens of sites in China. I can't help but wonder to what extent, if any, Kingdon had to get permission from local, state or national authorities to film all this. Much of the footage we get is simply the footage plus the electronic score (courtesy of Dan Deacon) but at times we get to listen in on discussions between the individuals (mostly employees) themselves. Check out the fascinating discussion between the butlers-in-training late in the film, where one comments that "Big Uncle Xi", a/k/a China's President (for life) has done "so much good:" while another opines that she likes the US "because I yearn for freedom". The financial and social inequality in China is staggering, as this film makes clear (Of course this is true in many other countries, including the US, but few of them are Communist-controlled.) Whether you like or don't like China, it is undeniably a rising power and a fascinating place. I had the good fortune of spending time in China for my work in the late 00s (the "good ol' days" of expanding trade between the US and China). If you even have a chance to visit China, don't hesitate! Bottom line: "Ascension" is a remarkable documentary about the pursuit of the Chinese dream (even if the pursuit of happiness doesn't seem all that urgent or pressing).

"Ascension" premiered on the film festival circuit last summer to good critical buzz (there is a reason this movie is currently rated 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was picked up my MTV Documentaries and started streaming on Paramount + last Fall. I saw an ad for this the other day in the New York Times, and was intrigues. Glad I checked it out. Of course I encourage you to check it out yourself, and draw your own conclusion.

The absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the "Chinese Dream." This observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.

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Ascension

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